


Harry Potter & Merlin's School of Magic

by ClassicClaire (ClaireVioletThorpe)



Category: Harry Potter - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Magic, Book 4: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Canon Rewrite, Canonical Character Death, Evil Dumbledore, F/M, Harry Potter is Dead, Multi, Secret Identity
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-01-01
Updated: 2012-10-08
Packaged: 2017-11-15 18:06:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 7
Words: 16,532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/530152
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ClaireVioletThorpe/pseuds/ClassicClaire
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In this story, Harry never went to Hogwarts. Instead, he attends Merlin's School of Magic. But when the school unexpectedly shuts down, he heads off to Hogwarts and meets Jacquel Romanov, who is Hogwart's Golden Girl. Let the fun begin!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Harry's Destiny Altered

To say that this story is not of this world would be a bit of an understatement. And if you told Harry James Potter at any point in his life with the Dursleys that there was a better way that he could live his life, he would have told you that you were in dire need of some serious therapy. Well, folks, that's this story. Harry isn't who we think he is.

This story begins the day after Harry defeated Voldemort after the dark wizard had killed his parents and Dumbledore foolishly placed him with his relatives. But he had no idea that someone had been watching him. Or two people for that matter. The first person was Gladys Larson Tuff, who (after nearly two years of putting up with a cruel husband, a lustful brother-in-law, and no children) decided to file for a divorce. Petunia Dursley decided to help Gladys out because "it was the right thing to do," not because she actually cared for Gladys or anything like that. Vernon, her husband, would beg to differ, yet he had no idea that Gladys was a witch and she could do some serious damage to him if she wanted to.

The second spy was a young girl who carried the name of Willamaerha Thristal. (Well, her mother Arista wanted to name her Wilhelmina, but her father Mel misspelled the name and so the poor baby was stuck with it.) Will was only 4 years old and yet she too had known nothing more than suffering and pain. First off, her mother had died when she was a baby, and her four older brothers Ares, Rafael, Marten, and Simon cruelly mistreated her. Mel tried to protect his daughter as best as he could, but he thought Will would be better off in a more stable family. Will met the Order of the Phoenix when she was just 2 years old and joined the fight against Lord Voldemort when she was 3 years old.

Both of them had no idea of the role that they would come to play, mainly in the life of one Harry Potter. Gladys did not agree with Dumbledore placing Harry with a family that hated magic and would abuse him because of that hatred. Will was still a little girl and yet, she knew suffering and hate all too well. Between the two of them, Harry's destiny as the Boy-Who-Lived was going to change forever...

* * *

When Gladys found baby Harry lying on the doorstep of #4 when she went to get the newspaper, she snapped. "DUMBLEDORE, YOU STUPID BASTARD!!"

"What are you yelling about?" Vernon asked as he was making the morning coffee.

"Nothing. Just that that stupid old man decided to put a baby at your front door," Gladys retorted. "It's like Dumbledore dropped him off like a package instead of handing us the baby. What if someone took him away or he froze to death during the night?"

"He did WHAT??" Petunia shouted as she came downstairs carrying baby Dudley. "Oh no! What happened?" she gasped as she looked at baby Harry.

"It's Lily," Gladys said after a while. "She and James are dead. And Sirius is going after the guy who killed them." Petunia gasped in horror at the news of her sister's death. It wasn't that they had gotten along (which they hadn't), but the pain of losing a sister to a thing such as death was very hard for her to swallow. 

"I was very much against Dumbledore leaving Harry with you, so I'm taking him and finding Sirius, if he hasn't caught that rat already," said Gladys as she took the baby and disappeared into the guest bedroom. No one spoke another word as the mundane events of the day slowly took over the morning shock.

* * * * *

Meanwhile, Will was hiding in the gardens of the Dursley house. She wasn't alone, for Boulo the family dog came with her. After a quick snack, both girl and dog settled down at Will's secret campsite. Why is she alone, you ask? She was on the run after escaping from her brothers when she was 3 years old and made sure that not even her father could find her. Not that he wouldn't believe her anyway when she said that Ares was becoming crueler to her every day.

"Well, Boulo, I say that it's time that we dealt with Ares personally," she said to the dog. "There's nothing for it. I mean, it's only going to be a matter of time before he takes the abuse beyond cruel looks and cruel words. if that happens, I hope to not be around when it happens."

Will glanced up at the sky; she was only 4 years old and yet, it was a marvel that nothing bad had happened to her yet. When she ran away from home, the members of the Order of the Phoenix took her in. she wasn't allowed to do any actual fighting, as she was too young to master even a simple wand spell, but she was the message carrier between the headquarters and Godric's Hollow, where the Potter family lived. She had witnessed the Dark Lord Voldemort attacking the Potter family and was forced to flee from the house by Lily herself. 

She regretted not getting to the house in time to warn the Potters about the Dark Lord, and she certainly failed to find and rescue baby Harry from the inevitable attack.  _If I see him again_ , she mused,  _I will do everything in my power to protect him from evil and cruelty, as my family failed to protect me_.  _I will make sure that he is safe from anyone who wishes to harm him._

She had no idea that she was going to get her chance within a few hours...

* * *

As for Sirius Black, he had found Peter Pettigrew and was about to confront him when someone else showed up. It was an oddly familiar young woman with green eyes and blond hair. "Jill?" Peter cried out. "Jill McGuire?" Jill had once been Peter's girlfriend; well, until a few months before, when they had a falling out due to Peter joining the Dark Lord. 

"I can't believe you, Peter!" Jill snapped as she approached the wizards. "What have you done?"

"If you're implying that I betrayed James and Lily to Voldemort, you're wrong!" Peter cried.

"You're right," Jill smiled. "Because I betrayed James and Lily to Voldemort!" Sirius gasped in horror. He had no idea that the girlfriend of a Marauder would do something like that to one of his closest friends. It was against nature!

"You stupid bitch!" he screamed as he reached for his wand. "How on earth could you do something like that to Peter?"

"Jill, why?" Peter cried."I thought you loved me," Jill cried in a small voice. "But then you snapped and left me after I made just one little mistake."

"ONE LITTLE MISTAKE?? YOU MADE ONE LITTLE FREAKING MISTAKE??" Peter screamed. "I can't even look at you now. I am ashamed to even know you. You broke my heart."

"I'm sorry, Peter," Jill tried again.

"Too late, Jill," Peter snapped in finality.

Within a few minutes, an explosion occurred. When the smoke cleared, Jill had disappeared and Sirius and Peter, along with 12 other people, were lying on the ground. The muggle police moved onto the scene quicker than the Aurors. One person said, "It's kind of tragic, isn't it?"

"Yeah," said another cop. "Here, we've got explosions and people dropping dead without any warning. Now this." They went searching for the source of the explosion. Just then, an Auror recognized Sirius Black.

"Sirius Black?" cried Michel Johnson. "Please don't tell me you're dead," he said as he knelt down by Sirius's side in shock.

"I think he's still alive, yet unconscious," said his partner Priscilla Sabor as she stared at Sirius and Peter. "But Peter Pettigrew is dead. He took a curse to his heart."

"He and 12 other people," said Alastor Moody, who came with his 10-year-old son Richard. "They're all dead. Sirius is not." After examining their wands, Moody said, "It appears that Sirius was about to cast either a  _stupefy_  or  _prefectus totalus_  on Pettigrew when this happened. But who could have done that? Certainly not Pettigrew. He never even drew out his wand."

"Not unless it was another wizard or a witch nearby," said Steele Mobley. "Maybe they were the ones who did this."

"It was Jill McGuire," Priscilla said at last. "I found her wand nearby. She killed Pettigrew and those 12 muggles and she tried to kill Sirius as well."

"Hmmm, so we find and arrest this Jill McGuire for killing 13 people with a single curse and attempted murder of Sirius Black," said a police officer.

"Of course," said Michel. "And she is to be considered armed and dangerous." Within a few minutes, Aurors had Jill cornered in a local store. She wasn't alone; three very small babies were with her. "We're arresting you for attempted murder of an Auror and the murders of Peter Pettigrew, Randall Duke, Annabel Kincaid, June Preston, Conroy Walton, Hubert Hamer, Leona Tate, Mary Mahoney, John Clement, Jennifer Du Bois Trichenberg, Saul Cavanaugh, Duncan McGuire, Maria Luvannokitch McGuire, and Anastasia Luvannokitch," said an Auror.

Jill laughed in his face. "You think you can stop me?" she yelled. "You'll never take me alive!" And with that, she disappeared.

Priscilla, Michel, and Steele could only stare as the events of the afternoon progressed. The children were fast asleep in their cribs at Peter's flat. "What are their names?" asked Alan Parajah.

"Princeton, Olivia, and Emilia Pettigrew," Michel frowned as Baderich Johassen showed up.

"Poor little things," Baderich said. "Their mother is on the run and their father is dead. Such a pity."

"I feel sorry for Patricia," said Priscilla. "First it was that nasty business of her husband's death when that Sean Michael Rowes disappeared two years before, and now her only son is dead. Such a sad thing for such a proud woman like her."

"Indeed," said Steele. "But we still have to solve the matter of the deaths of 12 muggles before the Ministry tries to cover it up. Those families deserve to know the truth behind the deaths of the victims."

"To lie about their deaths would be to insult their memories," said Michel.

"Even then," said Priscilla, "do we really want to bring danger to our own families by outing Jill McGuire as a murderess?"

The group stared at her, all of them not knowing the answer to that question. Would they be willing to expose the truth about the wizarding world as the Ministry of Magic was plotting to cover it up?

* * *

Irene Romanov was rushing through the halls of St. Gladstone Hospital. She was wearing a fluffy pink robe. But she wasn't alone, for her 11-month-old daughter, Jacquelyn-Claire Ulrich, was with her. She too was wearing a fluffy pink robe, which matched her mother's. When she found out that Sirius was hurt, Irene jumped out the shower and rushed out of her home on Fleet Street with her baby daughter in tow.

But Sirius had more than one woman rushing to his side. His mother, Walburga, also showed up. Cassandra Mobley was there, too. She called herself Sirius's "fiancee", but neither Irene nor Walburga believed that Sirius even liked Cassandra. In fact, a doctor had to pull the younger women apart when Walburga showed up.

"How dare you call yourself Sirius's fiancee when you clearly don't care about my son at all," Walburga snapped as she glanced at Cassandra.

"And who are you to say that you're his mother?" Cassandra snapped back. "You clearly don"t care about him at all."

"Shut your mouth you lying whore!" Walburga snapped at her.

"Funny you should call me a whore," said Cassandra as she glared at the older woman. "When last I looked, you disowned Sirius because he refused to join a sadistic psychopath..."

"I remember that," Irene snapped as she slapped Walburga across her face. "You were angry with him for doing something right and refusing to give into evil when it would have convenienced him to do so!"

"That's enough, Irene," Walburga snapped. "You have your own baby daughter to worry about. And as for you," she was addressing Cassandra now, "you have destroyed Sirius's family and took Regulus away from me and Sean. You're just as bad as that grandmother of yours."

"I thank you kindly to leave Seamus out of this," Cassandra snapped as she stormed out the door. She glanced back and said, "And if you know what's good for you, stay away from my cousin!"

After Cassandra left, Sirius woke up. "Did I miss anything?" he asked.

"Not much, except that Peter Pettigrew is dead and your mother chased off your bitch of a fiancee, oh, make that ex-fiancee," Irene said. "She won't be coming back to darken our lives anytime soon, not when she exposed the truth about why she disowned you and all."

"You WHAT??" Sirius glared at his mother. "I promised to marry Cassandra as soon as she got that divorce from her husband. Now look at what you've done!"

"Now, Sirius, let's be reasonable here," said Walburga. "You know that woman killed your brother, why would you marry someone like her?"

"Because unlike you, Cassandra happens to be just as right as Joanna was," said Sirius. "She would not stand for me joining Lord Voldemort, and she would have crippled me if I even thought about joining him."

"Besides, I don't see why I can't help you raise the girls. Julianna, Joanna Rose, and Jamie-Lynn would be better off with their father and grandmother instead of a stepmother," said Walburga as if Sirius didn't say anything to her, "and our dear cousin Irene is such a big help despite that little daughter she just happened to have without being married to the child's father..."

"Walburga, don't you dare drag Jacquelyn into this!" Irene snapped. "You know that my daughter is a gift from God."

"I see," Walburga sighed. "Young people these days, all they do is rush, rush, rush! They never seem to slow down and just enjoy life."

"And I was doing that just fine when I married the girls' mother," Sirius said.

"Indeed," said Irene. "Now we have to deal with Dumbledore and why he decided to place your godson with a muggle family, especially a family that hates magic..."

"WHAT??" Sirius yelled. "HE PLACED HARRY WITH THOSE MAGIC-HATING MUGGLES?? I WILL HAVE NONE OF THIS SHIT!" He jumped out of bed, anger now replacing pain and injury. He turned to face his mother and cousins. "Let's go free him before something happens to him," he said at last.

* * *

Meanwhile, back at the Dursley house, it was night and Gladys saw it fit to stay in the guest room. Baby Harry was with her. Vernon, Petunia, and Dudley had gone to bed a long time ago. Will slipped into the house and armed herself with a long kitchen knife (to be used as a sword), a skillet (to be used as a club/shield), and a pot (to be worn as a helmet).

Unknown to them, there were four other people watching the Dursley house. Their names were Ares, Rafel, Mairten, and Sinfolte Thristal, and they were the cruel brothers of Willamaerha Thristal. They were looking for Will since she had run away from homethe year before. Mel, the father of all five children, missed his daughter immensely and wondered why his sons abused their youngest sister. He blamed himself for not being there for Will when she needed him.

Mel decided that he would find Will and bring her home. The world was too dangerous for a four-year-old to be running wild. he also planned to scold him sons for not keeping an eye on their sister when she disappeared.

Just then, a glass window in the living room shattered. The brothers Thristal burst into the house, yelling, "Willamaerha, where are you? You can"t hide from us forever!" Gladys, fearing that the men could harm her or Harry, cast a spell that kept the door to her room hidden. Will, however, hid in the cupboard, not wanting to reveal herself yet. "OK, Boulo," she said to the dog, who was standing over her, "this is where we fight for our right to exist." Boulo had protected Will since she was born and was beaten by the cruel brothers as well. He too seemed eager to get his revenge for being beaten.

Then, armed with their weapons and ready to fight, girl and dog burst out of the cupboard and charged upstairs.

She arrived not a moment too soon, for she heard the mumblings of Rafael and Marten as they tossed anything and everything in the house aside, trying to look for her. Simon was with Ares, who was viciously questioning the Dursleys in their bedroom. "Where is Willamaerha?" he snapped. "Where is my sister?"

"Willamaerha? What the hell kind of stupid name is that?" Vernon scoffed as he glared at Ares.

"Do not mock my sister's name!" Ares yelled as Simon tore out drawers and scattered their contents around. "Now where is she?"

* * * * * 

Meanwhile, Rafael and Marten were laughing as they trashed baby Dudley's room. The fat baby frowned as he stared at the older men destroying everything that he owned. "Where's Willie-Willie?" they sang, using the name they made up for Willamaerha when she was a baby.

“Right over here!” Will snapped as she approached them. Anger was written on her face, something that they did not miss. “And would you please not call me Willie-Willie?”

“But you used to like that!” Rafael cried.

“Yeah,” said Will, “when I was a baby.”

“You don’t like it anymore?” Marten cried.

“I’m 4 years old, you bloody nit-wits,” Will snapped. “Those days are over. Now get out of this house before Dad finds out.”

“He already knows about you, Willie-Willie,” said Rafael.

“Oh shut up!” Will snapped. “Dad doesn’t know about you guys going out at night when you should have been studying. Don’t think that I won’t tell him about your frat parties and your women and your…”

“Oh no you wouldn’t!” cried Marten.

“I would,” Will said.

Baby Dudley laughed as he watched Will pull out an assortment of weapons (which were various kitchen utensils) and chucked them at her brothers. With Rafael and Marten pinned to the wall and out of action, Will called Boulo over and said to him, “Get the baby out of here; I’ll take care of Ares and Simon.” And as the dog took the baby downstairs, Will thought to herself  _right, Ares. You and I have a score to settle_.

* * * * * 

Ares, meanwhile, was losing his patience. “Where is Willamaerha?!” he snapped. Vernon and Petunia refused to answer. “Simon,” Ares tried a new tactic. “Fire two warning shots into the ceiling.” Simon had no idea how to use a gun; he hated guns and loved nature. But he knew better than to disobey his older brother, especially when it came to hurting Will or intimidating other people.

So Simon fired a warning shot--and broke the mirror! Everyone gasped in horror as they watched the mirror shatter into a million pieces. Ares smiled grimly as Simon stared at him, ashamed at what he had done. “Now, for the last time,” Ares was close to slipping, “where is Will?”

“Help us, boss!” A cry ran from the baby’s room. Ares rushed over and saw Will pointing her sword at Rafael’s throat. “What are you doing, you fools!” Ares yelled as he stared at the two men who were pinned to the wall. Then, “oh, hello, Willamaerha, I didn’t see you there.”

“Prepare to die, Ares Thristal!” Will snapped as she faced her oldest brother. “You have been too mean for far too damn long!”

“What are you doing, Will?” cried Marten. “He’s 29 years old; you’re only 4! You can’t fight him, you’ll surely lose!”

“Can’t we all just get along?” Rafael cried out.

“NO!” Ares and Will cried out.

Hearing the argument, Simon ran out the room, Vernon and Petunia behind him. He said, “Ares, what the hell are you doing?”

Ares snapped. “What does it look like I’m doing?” he yelled

“You can’t do this to Will!” Simon cried out. “She’s just a baby! She didn’t do anything to anyone! Why are you doing this?”

“I can do whatever I damn well please!” Ares yelled as he pulled out his gun and aimed it at Will. Will tense, but she remained calm. She had faced a person who was just as cruel as Ares was and she didn’t want anyone to know that she was afraid of Ares at all. “She killed our mother when she was born! She destroyed our family! She doesn’t deserve to live!”

_He_ _’s slipping_! Will thought to herself.  _Ares is slipping! He just doesn_ _’t know it yet_! The other brothers gasped in horror, hoping that the unthinkable wasn’t going to happen. Simon, having enough or Ares and his craziness, grabbed for Ares’s gun, trying to knock it out of his hand.

Then, all hell broke loose.

* * * * *

Gladys was still in the room, but she could not sleep. Not when there was something wrong going on out there. So, she left the room using a magical doorknob, and saw a huge dog and baby Dudley sitting on the couch. Gladys picked up Dudley and shooed Boulo from the couch. Then from the safety of the guest room, she relayed a message to Sirius:  _Come quick, something isn_ _’t right_. But little did she know that the next few moments would change her life forever.

* * * * *

Ares looked around the room. Rafael, Marten, Vernon, and Petunia were dead, felled by his gun. Simon and Willamaerha were nowhere to be found. He soon found Will downstairs, talking to Boulo. “So, you thought you’d get past me, didn’t you?” Ares sneered as he stared at Will. “Prepare to die!” Boulo, sensing that Will was in danger, leapt at Ares’s throat. Within a few seconds, the dog was lying dead at Ares’s feet.

Will was beyond devastated. She had known the dog all her life. They had been best friends. Boulo had even protected her from Ares many times. She couldn’t believe that he was gone.

“Ares, you monster!” Will cried out. “How could you do that to my dog?”

“Do what?” Ares sneered.

“YOU KILLED MY BEST FRIEND, YOU BASTARD!!” Will screamed. “You are so going to pay for this!”

Ares laughed. “Fine by me, baby sister!”

And as the two siblings prepared for a possible fight to the death, a shot rang out. And when Gladys finally emerged from the guest room with Harry and Dudley in tow, she gasped as she saw Ares’s body lying dead at Willamaerha’s feet!

* * * * *

Sirius, Walburga, and Irene (sans baby Jacquelyn) then burst into the Dursley house. Or what remained of it. The police were everywhere, and hordes of concerned neighbors surrounded the house where Vernon and Petunia Dursley once lived. “Gladys, what on earth happened here?” Sirius asked.

“Oh, I don’t know,” Gladys gasped as she clutched baby Harry. “Something horrible, I guess.”

“I see,” Irene gasped as she looked around the room. “I take it that some people here are dead?”

“Yes,” said Police Chief Sydney Parker. “Vernon and Petunia Dursley are dead.” Gasps echoed everywhere. “They were shot to death by Ares Thristal, who shot his brothers Rafael and Marten and killed them; but for some reason, he was felled by his own weapon.”

Melanus Thristal was not forgotten. The Australian professor at the Gandalf University was notified of the deaths of three of his five children. He wept profusely and wondered why Ares’s hatred of Willamaerha destroyed their entire family. Mel said, “Where is Willamaerha?”

Will was found crying next to the body of what had been Boulo the dog. “She’s fine, but traumatized,” said a cop. “As if she wasn’t already traumatized.”

“What?” Mel gasped.

“Your daughter witnessed two murders just yesterday,” said the cop. “She claimed it was the work of some wizard called Lord Voldemort...”

Mel gasped in horror; Irene screamed. Wizards in general were afraid of Voldemort and they refused to say his name. The cop said, “I take it that you think he is real?”

“Of course he’s real, you idiot!” Irene yelled. “And one of his agents killed a wizard and 12 muggles earlier today. Wizards are real and they should be treated as such!”

“Enough, Irene,” said Walburga. To Gladys, she said, “Where is Harry Potter?”

Mel went to Will and hugged her. “Oh Willamaerha, I thought I lost you,” he said, tears of joy spilling down his face.

“But Boulo’s dead,” Will cried. “Ares killed him for protecting me.”

“Good,” said Mel. “That’s what he was supposed to do; protect you from anyone who wants to hurt you. But as for Ares, Rafael, and Marten, what a waste of three valuable lives; their mother would have wept to hear of their deaths had she still lived. But where is Simon?”

* * * * *

Unknown to them, Simon (having had enough of Ares), shot the wicked brother to death and fled; he was 18 years old and unhappy. He said to himself, “Now I am the last Thristal brother, but I can never go back to my father and sister. So I must leave and try to make it on my own.”

And so he returned home, packed his bags, and brought a plane ticket to St. Louis, Missouri. He vowed never to return. But after a certain number of years, the past would catch up with him. But we’ll leave that for later.

* * *

Baby Harry now slept in Irene’s arms while Gladys held Dudley. Sirius paced the room, shaking his head at what he had just heard: three brothers killed. Vernon and Petunia dead. While he didn’t pity Vernon or Petunia or mourn for the dead Thristal brothers (he didn’t know them and from Will, he heard nothing but bad things about them), Sirius realized that Dudley was an orphan. He said, “I wonder what I shall do with him.”

“Put him in an orphanage,” Gladys said. I’m sure they’ll be more than happy to find a good home for him.”

“I think not!” Walburga snapped. “Orphanages are terrible places for children.”

“You always did want a child,” Irene said. “Now here’s your chance. Go ahead and adopt Dudley and raise him as your own.”

Gladys frowned. “Only if I change his name,” she said. “I can’t let him grow up knowing that he’s an orphan, and with a terrible name at that.”

Mel spoke up. “I’m sure I might be of some help.” Everyone looked at him. “As the father of a member of the Order of the Phoenix, I have an idea that will work out for the best.”

“Such as?” Irene said.

“There’s a little school in Cornwall, Wales,” said Mel. “It’s called Merlin’s School of Magic. A boarding school for orphans. I’m sure our little friend can fit in there just fine.”

“I see,” said Walburga. “Well, how about it, Miss Larson? Are you willing to adopt the boy and send him to this school?”

“We can also send Will there too,” said Sirius. “After all, the girl has seen enough violence to last her the rest of her life.”

“But what about Harry?” Irene cried out. “The Dursleys were his only relatives and they’re all dead. What’s to happen with him?”

“I could raise him myself,” Sirius said, “but something tells me that Dumbledore doesn’t want that to happen. So I think we shall send Harry to Merlin’s as well.”

Irene agreed. “But to make sure, we shall tell him that Harry and his relatives are dead so he’ll never know the truth behind Harry’s disappearance.”

Sirius smiled. “Then I can blame him for Harry’s “ _death_ ” and demand retribution.”

“And if he refuses, then we’ll expose him as the fraud that he is,” said Walburga.

Mel said, “If you do that, then something bad could happen. I’ve seen it before, when the Australian Minister of Magic was linked to the Russian Mafia many years ago. But then again, he’ll do anything to protect his reputation.”

Gladys said, “Very well, then. I will take Harry, Dudley, and Will and go to Cornwall. But we need some name changes or the story I’m concocting won’t work.”

Irene was quick to make up names. “Harry shall be Brian, Dudley is Farley, and Willamaerha is…”

“Wilhelmina,” Mel finished for her. “Wilhelmina was my wife Arista’s grandmother’s name, but I misspelled it when naming my only daughter. I suggest that Gladys keeps her married name, but with German roots.’

“So that’s settled,” Walburga said. “We got new names for the kids and new lives for them to live…”

“Not yet,” said Gladys. They all looked at her. “I’d like to change Farley’s name to Caleb. Caleb was my grandfather’s name and I want to honor his memory. And his middle name will be Duncan, since my brother-in-law has recently died, along with two of my stepsisters. I must go to their funerals and say my goodbyes to my family, as I won’t be seeing them for a very long time.”

“I see,” Irene said. “Well then, say your goodbyes and leave now, or else Dumbledore will find out about our secret.”

“And all we’re asking is that you take care of yourself as well as them,” said Sirius.

“Don’t send us any messages unless absolutely necessary,” said Walburga.

“And whatever you do, don’t tell anyone you cannot trust with your life,” said Mel.

Then, before anyone could notice a group of wizards gathered in a corner of the ruined house, they all apparated to Irene’s house. Baby Jacquelyn was fast asleep; her babysitter left just as Irene arrived. There, after many hard and tearful goodbyes, Gladys left the house with the children under cover of night. And as they watched the train leave, Irene turned to the others and said, “Somehow, I wonder if we had just made a huge mistake.”

The others nodded, knowing that someone could have overheard their plotting and reported them to Dumbledore. But then again, Irene had made sure that very few people knew the truth about Harry and that he was safe where ever he was. Dumbledore would have to be deprived of his hero and the wizarding world would have to mourn the baby’s untimely death, but it had to be done.

Irene returned to the Dursley house and charmed a dead squirrel into the corpse of Harry Potter. She then charmed a dead rat into the corpse of Dudley Dursley. She set the dead babies in the house and wept for a while, knowing that the wizarding world would be mourning the deaths of their young hero and demanding answers as to why they were murdered during a home invasion. Dumbledore would surely be blamed for this tragedy.

* * *

Sure enough, Albus Dumbledore was at his office in Hogwarts the next day when Minerva McGonagall came in, crying. “Harry’s dead!” she cried out. “He and his relatives were all killed in a home invasion last night!”

Dumbledore gasped in horror upon hearing the news; his young hero was dead, and the protective wards that he had placed around the house didn't help either. “This is tragic,” he said. “Such a sad thing for him to die when he had barely begun to live. As sad as this is, we must not allow Amber to find out that her little friend is dead.” But they had no idea that Amber Dumbledore was listening in the whole time. She knew something wasn’t right and resolved to find out the truth behind what happened to Harry Potter.

And as the wizarding world mourned the supposed death of its savior and buried him next to his parents, little Harry Potter, soon to be Brian Tuff, was off to begin a new life in an old school.


	2. The Girl Who Lived

The next week, all of London mourned the deaths of the thirteen people killed on November 1, 1981. Patricia Pettigrew mourned as she tossed the first pile of earth into her son Peter’s grave. “That woman has caused me nothing but grief, and now she has taken my only child from me!” Her three grandchildren slept, not knowing that their father was dead.

The Luvannokitch family also mourned; for Maria was an 18-year-old bride and Anastasia was just 15 years old. Bill and Ellen, the girls’ parents, wept as they watched mourners toss earth onto their daughters’ graves.

Nichollo Trichenberg wept aloud as he watched his younger cousins shovel huge piles of dirt onto his daughter Jennifer’s grave.

Constance Cavanaugh too wept as she watched her stepchildren Bruce and Lola Burke bury her only child, Saul. Her grandsons, Jonathan and Adrian Trichenberg, watched with interest.

But out of the thirteen families that came to bury their loved ones, there was one family that did not mourn. Matthew and Emily McGuire, the parents of Duncan and Jill McGuire, stood there, silently watching as the Luvannokitch family buried their only son. Duncan had been born a squib (which is a non-magical member of a wizarding family) and so he had been banished. Duncan later attended Merlin’s School of Magic, where he met Maria Luvannokitch. They fell in love, got married soon after, and had a son named Martin.

Baby Marty McGuire, along with his infant cousin Gwendolyn Luvannokitch, was fast asleep in the nursery. The Pettigrew, Black, and Luvannokitch families were meeting in Irene’s house. The McGuires were not forgotten. They and Nichollo Trichenberg were sitting in a corner of Irene’s sitting room.

Irene had told Ellen about Gladys and why she failed to show up at the funerals. “She has already said goodbye,” said Bill. “There’s no need for her to return just to say goodbye again.”

“Yet I pity that Melanus Thristal,” said Ellen. “In the blink of an eye, all his children are either dead or gone. Such a tragic thing for a man to endure.” Mel had to bury three sons at the funeral and he wasn’t very happy about it. He was talking to Patricia Pettigrew, who also had to bury a son.

Just then, Dumbledore showed up. He said, “It has come to my attention that you are all mourning the deaths of those you love. But it does no good to mourn and forget to live.” To Sirius, he said, “I am sorry to hear of your godson’s death. It is sad to hear about the death of someone who has only begun to live.”

“I would accept your condolences, old man,” said Sirius, “but know this: it was you who placed him with his relatives instead of allowing me to raise him, which was the master plan. It was you who allowed this to happen. Alas, Harry is now dead, along with his uncle and aunt and cousin and those Thristal boys. How are you going to be able to live with yourself, knowing that Harry Potter died in vain? What are you going to tell the Ministry when they start inquiring about his death? You are a vain and selfish bastard, and I hope that it comes back to kick your ass!”

Dumbledore gasped. Everyone in the room glared at him with anger and hate in their eyes. Sirius shouted, “Albus Dumbledore is a fraud! He uses people, manipulates people, and bends their minds to do his evil works! Because of his stupidity, the people you loved are dead. Will you allow your children to attend Hogwarts? Not while he’s still in charge!” Shouts of approval rang down Fleet Street.

* * *

Two weeks later, Irene Romanov was enjoying a moment to herself. Those were very rare, since Jacquelyn had been born tiny and took up most of her mother’s time. Now was the time that Irene could even have that moment to herself. A babysitter was watching Jacquelyn.

Just as things were about to get better for the both of them, Irene noticed someone at the door. It was Dumbledore. Irene pulled on a cotton red robe and stood in her dressing room. “I see you wish to speak to me alone,” she said.

“I have come only to beg for your forgiveness and to help you raise your daughter,” said the old man.

“I see,” said Irene, “that you are trying to guilt-trip me into letting you into my daughter’s life. Sorry, but I will have none of that. Jacquelyn is perfectly fine living her life the way she has always lived her life.”

“Including the fact that you have not included her father in her life and you turned away the only man who ever loved you?” Dumbledore said.

“Lucius Malfoy already has a son, so why should he bother with my daughter,” Irene snapped back, “and Warren Limpett broke my heart two years before when he chose a lie over the woman that he loved. And if you were to find him, I mind-wiped him, so he’ll never be able to recall me or Hogwarts or anything concerning magic for that matter.”

“I see,” said Dumbledore, “and I have already located Remus Lupin, and under veritaserum, he admitted to being Jacquelyn’s father. You know there are laws against consorting with werewolves.”

“Screw those laws!” Irene yelled as she reached for her wand. “I can be with whomever I please and you can’t stop me! So Remus didn’t even know that I had a baby, and he is nowhere to be found at this hour. So I suggest that you go home and leave me and my daughter alone.”

Dumbledore became angry; Irene Romanov was just as stubborn as her father, Paul, was. Usually, he calmed down and tried to reason with the young princess; but this time, he knew he went too far. Irene said, “So what are you going to do about it, you stupid old man?”

“Whatever it takes to make you see my ways,” said Dumbledore.

“I’ll NEVER see your manipulative ways!” Irene cried out. “In fact, my daughter is a million times better than you’ll ever be and she will take you down one day!”

Little did she know that when she said those words, Irene Victoria Romanov sealed her own fate, along with the fate of her daughter.

* * * * *

Sirius Black knew that something was not right with Irene Romanov since he left her house earlier that day. He picked Jacquelyn up from the babysitter and rushed to #50 Fleet Street. There, a huge crowd of people had surrounded the place and all appeared concerned.

Just then, a purple bolt came from nowhere and blew the baby out of Sirius’s arms and onto the patio. She was unhurt. Dumbledore stepped outside and yelled, “It has come to our attention that our own Irene Romanov has been murdered!” The crowd gasped and parted upon seeing Sirius Black. He looked down and saw the bloodied body of what had once been Irene Victoria Romanov lying dead at the feet of her killer. “And not only that, he also tried to kill Irene’s only child as well. But Jacquelyn Claire Lupin stopped him and yet she paid a huge price for her heroic deed!”

Jacquelyn soon appeared in the old man’s arms. She had a huge gash in the middle of her head, the shape of a star forming in the middle of the wound. But the damage had been sealed and the world was forever changed when Dumbledore uttered the next words: “Behold Jacquelyn Claire Lupin, the Girl-Who-Lived!”

The crowd cheered for their newest Girl-Who-Lived. Sirius, having enough, soon found himself at the home of his old friend, Remus Lupin. Lupin looked at him and said, “And why are you here, Sirius Black?”

“Remus, you have to listen to me!” Sirius cried out. “Dumbledore has lost his mind! He killed Irene Romanov and has proclaimed Jacquelyn as the Girl-Who-Lived!”

“He WHAT??” Lupin cried out, but then some random wizard cried out, “So Jacquelyn is the Girl-Who-Lived? That’s great! I’m going to tell all my friends!” And he ran off.

“Oh God, Irene’s dead!” Lupin cried. “I can’t believe I left her without saying goodbye and I didn’t know anything about Jacquelyn until that pathetic old man cornered me and forced me to tell the truth. Whatever shall I do?”

Both wizards apparated back to Irene’s house and found Walburga and several other wizards sobbing as they looked upon Irene’s body. Little Jacquelyn was fast asleep on the sofa, the gash in her head disappearing and leaving a purple star-shaped scar in its place. The scar shimmered, and its bearer would have to carry that scar for the rest of her life.

Walburga said, “I can’t believe that Irene had been raped and murdered by that old man. What kind of man does that when Irene told him the truth about himself?”

Patricia Pettigrew said, “Oh, the poor child. Her mother’s dead and there’s no one left to take care of her.”

Mel said, “Irene risked her life to protect our secret. Part of it is safe with her. Alas for baby Jacquelyn…”

Lupin found himself approaching the baby. She woke up and cried out, “Mama? Where Mama?” Lupin looked around the room and saw the sad looks of everyone’s faces. He knew he had to break the news to his daughter. “Mama’s dead,” he said sadly. Then the baby started crying. Then Remus Lupin too began crying. He had cared about Irene Romanov and now he was upset to know that he would never see her again.

Walburga said, “Let’s take the little one home and we’ll think of something else. It must be such an awful way to begin one’s life, with your grandparents being killed in a car accident and your mother being brutally murdered.”

The wizards all agreed and as they took Jacquelyn to #12 Grimmauld Place, they knew that they were going to have some very harsh words for Dumbledore very soon regarding the baby.

* * * * *

As for Cassandra Mobley, she was at her flat when Dumbledore showed up. “What are you doing here?” she cried out. “You’ve already done enough damage to my family! Why are you here?”

“Didn’t you hear?” said a random person who lived next door to her. “Someone killed Irene Romanov and then tried to kill Jacquelyn Lupin.”

“She’s the Girl-Who-Lived!” said another person.

“You monster!” Cassandra screamed as she glared at Dumbledore. “You destroyed Irene’s family and then saw fit to kill her, didn’t you? And to even kill her baby? You have no right, no right to exist on this earth…”

“Obliviate!” Dumbledore yelled as he zapped Cassandra, effectively wiping out her memories. He then left the place. Little did he know that he had left behind two witnesses who saw the attack on Cassandra Mobley. Those witnesses called the police as soon as he was gone.

As for Cassandra herself, she was sitting alone on the floor of her flat. She had been deprived of all her memories of her life, even to the point of rescuing Sirius from despair following his wife Joanna’s death and even mourning her brother Maverick’s untimely death. She was very upset when the police came to retrieve her.

* * * * *

No one in the Wizarding world could believe that Irene Romanov had been raped and murdered. They all turned out to help little Jacquelyn bury her mother the next week. The baby cried incessantly, and everyone felt sorry for her. Albus Dumbledore, being the manipulative idiot that he was, mourned Irene’s death and tossed the first pile of earth on the young witch-princess’s grave. (Of course, he blamed Remus Lupin for Irene’s death and attempting to kill Jacquelyn, turning everyone in the wizarding world against him)

Then everyone else tossed roses and dirt into the grave until it was nearly filled. Jacquelyn was about to drop the final rose into her mother’s grave when Lupin chose to show up. He said, “How could you keep me away from my daughter?”

“You have a lot of nerve showing up here like that,” said Walburga. “I thought you actually cared about Irene and Jacquelyn. But now I see that you’re nothing but a murderous monster who cares for no one but himself!”

“I can’t believe that you killed Irene!” cried Sirius in anger. His daughters Julianna, Joanna Rose, and Jamie-Lynn stared at their father with huge brown eyes. “How could you do that to her? You knew that she loved you, but you just had to be a jerk, didn’t you?”

“And then to even harm her baby…” Walburga began, but thought better of it. She handed Jacquelyn to Mel, and then kicked Lupin into a freshly dug grave. “Rest in peace, bitch!” she snapped as she looked at the crying werewolf. Sirius and Mel frowned as they too glared at Lupin. He had a look of pure hate on his face, a look that would come to haunt them all for many years.

Aurors soon came and arrested him, dragging him away from the cemetery. Dumbledore watched the scene unfolding with a smile on his face, knowing that he had erased all traces of his involvement in Irene’s death by blaming Remus Lupin and silenced Cassandra Mobley when she scolded him for destroying her cousin’s family.

Yet he had no idea that the “ _Girl-Who-Lived_ ” that he had created would soon turn against her creator…

* * *

Within the first week of December, the Wizengamot tried Remus Lupin for the murder of Irene Romanov. He was found guilty of murder and sentenced to death. But the Muggle world had put him on trial as well (for Irene was just as famous in the Muggle world as she was in the wizarding world, if not more), and he was also found guilty of murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. He was sent to the notorious wizarding prison called Azkaban to await his execution. In the eyes of all of Muggle London (despite the magic), justice was served.

But in the wizarding world, many wizards toasted Jacquelyn, raising goblets of wine and shouting, “To Jacquelyn Lupin, the Girl-Who-Lived!” Dumbledore chuckled as he stirred his wine, telling McGonagall, “They have a new child who lived. And this time, I’ll make sure that she actually lives.”

“You better,” snapped McGonagall as she glared at him. “We already lost Harry Potter, no thanks to your stupidity; we won’t be losing Jacquelyn too.” Amber glared at her father, but said nothing. She wasn’t about to crush her father’s plans just yet. She was very upset to know that her best friend Willamaerha Thristal was gone, possibly never to return. Will had left London shortly after the death of Harry Potter and not even Mel knew where she had gone.

In fact, they would not meet again for many years.

* * * * * 

The next day, Sean LeSouse-Rowes and Maverick Mobley found Jacquelyn asleep in a crib at #12 Grimmauld Place. She curled up in the nursery as the two men stared at her. Sean said, “I do not like the looks of this, Maverick. Do we really have to…”

“It’s not like we have a choice, Sean,” said Maverick. “Dumbledore killed Irene. He destroyed Cassandra. He proclaimed Jacquelyn as the Girl-Who-Lived just because he lost baby Harry."

"I know," said Sean with a sad look on his face. "Such a shame that he decided to allow an innocent baby to die."

"Don’t feel too sad," said Mobley. "At least he's with his parents again in heaven."

"But to claim Jacquelyn as the Girl-Who-Lived to make up for the fact that harry potter is dead is just sick and disgusting," said Sean. "I don't care what everyone else believes. Remus Lupin could not have killed Irene and he certainly isn't Jacquelyn's father. Something isn't right here, and we need to put an end to it immediately."

"Dumbledore will not take Jacquelyn and train her as his soldier," said Mobley. "We won't let it happen."

"Not if we take her first," said Sean.

He pulled out a basket that he was carrying and placed the sleeping baby in it. Mobley pulled out a letter and laid it in the crib. Then they left the house before anyone could see them and the baby.

But as for the grownups who tried to protect her from Dumbledore, they all wept at the news that Jacquelyn was missing from her bed. To them, it was the biggest blow since Harry's and Irene's deaths. No one knew where she was or who could have taken her. All they knew was that Jacquelyn was gone.

And as little Jacquelyn Claire Lupin was on her way to her new home in Glascow, Scotland, she had no idea about the role that she would be forced to play. The wizarding world believed that their hero was dead and so they embraced the tiny girl as their heroine. No one dared to question Dumbledore’s outlandish claims, even if they made no sense.

As for Sirius, he moved into Irene’s house and raised his daughters alone. He never remarried, nor did he have any other children.

As for Cassandra, she never did recover her memories. She died the next year in St. Mungo’s after she had failed to recover from Dumbledore’s attack. She left behind a set of twins named Sidney and Charlotte Mobley. They e later sent to an orphanage, the same orphanage that Tom Riddle (Lord Voldemort) once grew up in.

As for Mel, he married Sean's former girlfriend Jadis Kastianopolis Turner and they had four children: Christopher, William, Grace, and Russell.

The other remaining families (Pettigrew, Cavanaugh, Luvannokitch) began to rebuild their lives, yet they plotted to expose Dumbledore for the monster that he truly was. They did not forget Irene’s death, nor would they forgive Harry’s death, both of which had ended with murder.

But once Harry returns to the wizarding world, things would be shaken up and everything about the wizarding and muggle worlds would soon be changed forever.


	3. The Trip to Merlin’s

While Jacquelyn Lupin was being declared “ _the Girl-Who-Lived_ ” and Irene Romanov was being placed in her early grave, Gladys Tuff had successfully smuggled Harry Potter, Dudley Dursley, and Willamaerha Thristal out of London, England and straight to Cornwall, Wales. Only this time, the children’s names had been changed to Harrison, Caleb, and Wilhelmina Tuff.

Earlier, she had convinced everyone that it was better if Harry and Dudley had died along with Vernon, Petunia, and the Thristal brothers. Sirius disagreed, but the others overruled him. Irene had found two dead puppies and (with a bit of sadness), transformed the dead puppies into the dead bodies of Harry and Dudley, making the spell permanent in case she weakened later on. Gladys also had Irene cast a spell that permanently altered the appearances of Harry and Dudley, changing their features to those of a normal baby. Harry, who once had jet-black hair and green eyes, was now a normal-looking boy with brown hair and brown eyes while Dudley went from being blond, blue-eyed to brown, and grey-eyed.

Gladys also attended the funerals of the dead Harry Potter and his late family, shaking her head as she watched the priest speak about the death of innocents and the madness of life. She knew that she had a huge responsibility to safeguarding the two boys and making sure that they would never recall this terrible even in their short lives.

She also attended the burials and then left the funerals; no one saw her leaving with the children at all. Gladys knew that the time had come for her to leave London, possibly for good.

When the train pulled into Cornwall, Gladys stepped out. There, a strange man dressed in a blue robe with silver stars and moons approached her and said, “I understand that you are Gladys Tuff and you are a young widow with three small adopted children?”

“I am,” Gladys said, while trying to keep her false story straight in her head. “And I understand that you are taking me to Merlin’s School of Magic?”

“That I am,” said the man. “My name is Michael Rasputin, and I am the headmaster of the school. I run a school for orphans and squibs and I am not sure if your children even qualify for a spot at my school,” said Michael.

Gladys said, “Then let no one else know of this: I have here with me the famous Harry Potter, who took down the Dark Lord…”

“You mean that I’m looking at THE Harry Potter?” Rasputin cried out as he stared at the baby.

“Not so loud,” Gladys gasped. “We’re sending him to Merlin’s for his own protection from anyone who wishes to hurt him now that the Dark Lord is dead. Anyway, I also have Dudley Dursley and Willamaerha Thristal, who are both orphaned and a squib…”

“You mean to tell me that Mel’s daughter is here?” Rasputin cried out again.

“Keep it down; I don’t want anyone else to know about this!” Gladys cried out again. “Anyway, Dudley’s family is dead and so are Willamaerha’s brothers, and I just want to keep the children safe until the danger passes.”

“I see,” said Rasputin after a while. “And what names do you have for them while they are here at Merlin’s?”

“Harrison, Caleb, and Wilhelmina Tuff,” Gladys recited the children’s new names. That seemed to satisfy the headmaster. “Very well then, Miss Tuff,” he said. “To Merlin’s it is.”

* * *

A description of Merlin’s School of Magic: the school is tucked away in the woods behind the village of Glasnost, which the villagers affectionately called “Camelot” after the King Arthur legends. A huge building was interconnected to many smaller buildings and scores of small cabins scattered around a huge field. The building resembled a towering, overcrowded reddish-brown stone castle. It was approached by a wide cobbled walkway. The castle was once owned by a bespelled enchanter and featured a lavish garden. The castle also had a priceless collection of jewels, a vast library, and many stained glass windows. The nearby mining settlement contained a large courtyard made from marble, a large fountain, and the place is noted for its magic.

The 60 or so dorms at the school could hold as many as six people at a time and were given such names as Galahad, Lancelot, Percival, and Bors, after the Knights of the Round Table. The males’ names were for the boys and the female names (such as Anna, Ingraine, Morgan, and Guinevere) were for the girls.

There was a huge dining hall with many round tables (to coincide with the legend of the Round Table) where the students would go to eat their meals and past the doors would lead to a huge building where classes were held.

After leaving the dining room, you’d enter a huge building where classes were held. For as large as the school appeared to be, it was quite small. It was small because the number of students attending were quite few. Most of them were orphans who were left in the night secretly by careless Wizarding families who wanted nothing more to do with them.

Gladys shook her head and wondered why on earth Wizarding families would want to dump their unwanted children at such an old castle. But before she went too far, several people came forward, seeing them come out from the station.

One of them said, “We’re glad you’re here, Mrs. Tuff.”

“No,” said Gladys. “Not Mrs. Tuff. Just Miss Tuff, thank you very much. I’ve recently lost my husband weeks ago and I don’t need to be reminded.”

“I’m very sorry,” said the woman. “Do forgive me. My name is Eleanor Diggenstyke, I know, funny name. But anyway, we are here to welcome you to Merlin’s School of Magic.”

“Thank you,” said Gladys. “But anyway, can someone explain the history of the school to me?”

“Well,” said Rasputin, “the school is hundreds of years old, even older than Hogwarts. A squib who determined that squibs need not live in the muggle world founded it; they needed their own place to live. And also, to attend school, for squibs were forbidden to attend magical schools…”

“And what was his name?” Gladys asked.

“His name should no doubt be familiar to you,” said Eleanor.

Gladys said, “But I haven’t heard the story of a squib who built a school for squibs.”

“You have not?” cried another man. “Where did you grow up?”

“Germany,” said Gladys. “Near the Alsace-Lorraine border. My family was the Larson family with connections to Sweden and France. Not English. Anyway what was his name?”

“His name was Isaac Blake Parson,” said Isaac. “I should know; I am his descendant.”

“And your last name is?” said Eleanor.

“Kempson,” said Isaac. “But anyway, Parson saw fit to educate the squibs and even to build a secret society for squibs, as they cannot be in either the wizarding or muggle worlds. But that was only wizarding England. I have no knowledge of how they treat squibs in other countries.”

Rasputin said, “In the States, it matters not if one is a wizard or not. That country is a violation of the wizarding laws; they allow werewolves and vampires to co-exist with wizards and even humans. Squibs have rights in that country. The States, indeed!”

“That is enough Michael!” cried Eleanor. “The States has long been a refuge for those who are seeking a safe home from persecution. Our country, as well as many others, has indulged in the sin of depriving people of their rights, and many of those vampires and werewolves we have executed and squibs have been made slaves in several other countries. But enough of that.”

Gladys said, “I did not come here to learn of our country’s dirty sins. And if you insist on continuing, I shall take the children and returning to my family.”

An older woman said, “Surely you must not leave with a squib child, for it is wrong and illegal for a squib to exist in wizarding Britain. Miss Tuff, please consider our school. Mr. Parson knew that he needed to create a world where squibs could live out their lives without interference from both muggle and wizarding worlds. And not only that, he made sure that squib children were given a decent education and here is that place. You will give our school a chance, no?”

“Yes,” said Gladys. “And I will like to take the children and settle them in.”

“Very well,” said Mother Mira. “The students will be arriving Sunday and I’d be delighted to have your children join them. The school is designed to educate those as young as 2 years old, when the magic is expected to manifest itself and make itself known.”

“You don’t actually teach the children magic?” cried Gladys.

“No,” said Rasputin. “We don’t. But we do teach them the skills of a Wingmaker. For the Parson family have been bound to the Wingmakers and his grandson was the son of Parson’s daughter and a Wingmaker and he taught that skill when he was headmaster of Merlin’s. Many of the people in the village are Wingmakers…”

“And who are the Wingmakers?” Gladys cried out. After everyone stared at her, she said, “Sorry. I didn’t know about them.”

The headmaster and his helpers said nothing else as Gladys took the kids and went into her new room. Gladys wondered if she was doing the right thing by taking the children to Merlin’s. And if the headmaster and his people proved to be lying, she could easily take the children back to Germany and reveal to the Ministry of Magic where the secret squib village was hidden.

Rasputin frowned thinking what he was getting into by letting Gladys Tuff and her three adopted children into the school. She seemed to not know much about wizarding England, having grown up in wizarding Germany and attending a school that placed much value in magic and claimed that squibs were worthless and were better as slaves. In fact, her family had employed 20 squibs as servants while she was growing up.

But when her father died, Gladys’s mother remarried and moved to England, but Gladys chose to stay at home until her 18th year, when she and her siblings were ordered to leave their home and join their mother and her new family. Bill rejected them and wanted them gone. Gladys was married off to Framel Tuff, but they had no children.

Gladys herself vowed to never return to her home or family and she would raise Harry, Dudley, and Willamaerha in safety and comfort, never mind the headmaster and his helpers or what they stood for; Gladys resolved that Harry would never know about his true family or his past until many years had come and gone. Dudley would not know about his family at all.

But even the best plans go awry, but it would be 12 years before Harry would once again set foot in wizarding England.

Until that time comes, Harry would be at Merlin’s.


	4. Life in Merlin's

Twelve long years had passed since Harry Potter’s “ _death_ ” and rescue in the form of Gladys Tuff, who saw fit to take him, his cousin Dudley Dursley, and young Willamaerha Thristal, leave the small town of Little Whinging, and go to Cornwall, Wales to attend/live in Merlin’s School of Magic. Harry, who was also known as Harrison, had grown up in the school with his “ _brother_ ” Caleb and “ _sister_ ” Wilhelmina. His adoptive mother, Gladys Larson Tuff, was also staying in the school, intending to keep Harry safe and hidden until he was at least 18 years old and could fend for himself in a world that still loved Albus Dumbledore despite his crimes, particularly the murder of Irene Romanov and declaring her daughter, Jacquelyn, as the “ _Girl-Who-Lived_.”

But let’s rewind a bit to when he actually started attending Merlin’s…

When Harrison and Caleb turned two, Eleanor saw fit for them to attend the school. Wilhelmina had already started classes, but she was in the advanced classes and didn’t get to see the boys very much outside the classroom. The two boys were placed in a room where the children were taught magic. On their third birthday (for Gladys had claimed that Harrison and Caleb were twins), they were taught the skills of the Wingmakers.

And when Harrison was 7 years old, there were a great many students in Merlin’s, so much that the school had to add 5 extra buildings to house all of the children and teachers as well as Gladys. Also, Harrison made several new friends, whose names were Ezra Gifford, Leslie Carew, Nathaniel Grady, Susannah Prewett, Margaret Prewett, Christian Prewett, Jacquette Fausto Nielsen, Raulin Knighton, Violet Ravensen, and Jefferson Hershel.

Also attending Merlin’s were Princeton, Olivia, and Emilia Pettigrew (who were being raised by their grandmother, Patricia Pettigrew), Martin McGuire (whose parents Duncan and Maria met at the same school), Gwendolyn Luvannokitch (Maria’s niece and Anastasia’s daughter), and Jonathan and Adrian Trichenberg (whose parents were also killed by Jill McGuire and they were removed from their foster home when they were 7 and 6 years old)

Gladys Tuff also remained at the school, for she had promised to never set foot back in London until Dumbledore was taken down and placed in prison for his many crimes. During that time, she became the mother of Everett Jesse, Agnes, and Stanley Tuff. She did not reveal who the father of the children were, even though most of the villagers and Wingmakers alike claimed that Michael Rasputin was the father. He didn’t deny or claim it, however. He and Gladys did have four more children, Aurelien, Justin, Yvaine, and Jérémie, but they weren’t born until much later.

When Harrison had met Jacquette, he was seven and she was four. She had said, “You seem to be a very interesting person, Harrison Tuff.”

Harry had said, “I don’t know. I’m just a regular person.”

Jacquette smiled and said, “I don’t want to be called by my full name; it reminds me too much of my parents. They both died last year and I don’t want to be reminded that they gave me that awful name.”

“Same here,” said Harrison. “But my dad is dead and my mom doesn’t like to talk about it much. So why don’t you call me Ryenne?”

“Only if you promise to never call me Jacquette, only Quetta,” said Quetta.

Well, sometimes in life, you do make that odd friend, and Ryenne was no different. But he did befriend Quetta and not only did he befriend Quetta, but he soon met Ezra, Leslie, Nathaniel, Susannah, Margaret, Christian, Raulin, Violet, Jeff, and Jonathan. The kids all grew up in the school, far away from any orphanages or cruel or insane relatives. And when a child grows up in a happy environment, they tend to become happy and well-adjusted; but if a child grows up in a dismal environment, he or she could become bitter and mean. That would have not been the case with Ryenne because he grew up in Merlin’s and not the Dursley’s.

And since Ryenne was at Merlin’s, he and his friends became some of the biggest pranksters the school had ever seen. No one, not even the headmaster, was safe from the endless booby traps, snakes in a can, and other horrible pranks that Ryenne and his friends managed to play on them.

But as for Caleb, he was a bit more shy than the former Dudley Dursley had ever been. Or let’s just say that he was so much better than Dudley; he wasn’t as fat as he would have been, nor was he spoiled by his thankless parents. He did however keep away from his more rambunctious twin and his friends and kept his head in fantasy books.

And in Wilhelmina’s case, she too grew more serious, having seen too much death and destruction as a small child and having to fight of her cruel older brothers. She never played much if not at all, and she also found the idea of pranking everyone to be extremely childish.

And a word on the other children: Princeton was among Ryenne and the Prankers and he was quite rowdy, while his sisters Olivia (better known as Paige) and Emilia were more quiet. And since Emilia had been referred to as Aslan Griswold in a number of other Harry Potter fanfics, instead of being rude and bullying, she was much more mellow, if not quiet.

In Marty’s case, with him having grown up in foster homes because no one would take him in, he seemed to be more serious and was good friends with Jonathan’s brother Adrian. Gwendolyn, preferably Gwen, was a lot happier than if she were Marya Griswold. In fact, Gwen would not meet her father until years later in this story.

Jonathan and Adrian, who were not in an abusive foster family in this story, were a whole lot happier than if they were in the other Harry Potter fanfics that I would be writing about them. Jonathan was one of the prankers while Adrian was good and quiet and friends with Marty, Gwen, and Paige.

Now that we have most of the characters out of the way, we have a bit of an interlude, which consisted of these words: Ryenne, Caleb, and Mina all grew up in Merlin’s; neither of them gave much thought to their families or their old lives back in England. Ryenne spent most of his days with the new Marauders, pranking anyone who was unfortunate enough to get into their way, while Caleb was quiet and kept mostly to himself. Mina didn’t pay much attention to her “ _brothers_ ,” as she was taking many of the honors classes after being revealed to be a genius.

Gladys herself was happy as well, having gotten away from a disastrous marriage and raising several happy, well-adjusted children and getting them away from a world that wanted to use them as shields and not as humans at all. And she was especially happy to get Dudley away from his parents and raise him the way a child should be raised.

But like all things in life, this eternal paradise could not last forever, for Albus Dumbledore noted that squib children were secretly learning magic in Wales, and that Cornelius Fudge, who was currently the minister of magic, had granted several of the schools, including Merlin’s, permission to teach magic to squibs. Dumbledore did not like that at all. He believed that squibs had no rights in the wizarding world and was angry to know that even squib children were learning magic. Not to mention that he had lost his Boy-Who-Lived and he was forced to kill another mother and create a Girl-Who-Lived at that.

So he secretly wrote an order to shut down all wizarding charity schools, or the schools that took in squibs and he would send the squib children into the muggle world, where they would be less likely to survive. Merlin’s was among the schools being shut down. And when the notice demanding the schools be shut down was revealed in the Daily Prophet and was signed by Fudge (who didn’t even know about the notice), many wizards were up in arms over the whole thing. To them, nothing was worse than squibs being sent into the muggle world, which many people despised because to them, muggles were cruel and uncaring and they hated how the muggles viewed magic as fun and harmless entertainment when wizards viewed magic as sacred and something to be respected and something that was not to be toyed with or used for fun.

Soon after the notice to shut down all squib schools in wizarding Britain was sent out, scores of squibs were placed in muggle boarding schools. But Merlin’s was left off the list because it had been a well-respected school and the ministry had a treaty with the Wingmakers. But Dumbledore sought to break that treaty, an act that would anger both wizards and Wingmakers alike and send a young boy named Ryenne Tuff to Hogwarts.

Now that that interlude is out of the way, we can begin the story, in which we must find out what happened to Jacquelyn and what she went through being known as the Girl-Who-Lived.


	5. Meet Jacquel Smythesten

Now we go back to London, England, to an orphanage where a certain girl was unwisely placed in and was forced to live there for the duration of her childhood.

Dumbledore had forbidden Lupin and Sirius to have any contact with her, saying that Jacquelyn would be needed to learn how to fight and eventually kill the dark lord. But the two wizards defied Dumbledore’s orders and visited her as often as they could. Jacquelyn was eventually stripped of her rightful name by the evil wizard himself, and was given the unfortunate name of Jacquel Smythesten, for Dumbledore tried to hide the fact that her father was Remus Lupin and he also wanted to destroy any links she had to the Romanov family, of which her true mother, Irene, was a daughter. Dumbledore accomplished this evil feat by claiming that the Dark Lord Voldemort slew Jacquel’s parents Ghislaine and Fabrice Smythesten and Jacquel stopped him and got a scar in the shape of a diamond with a pentagram in it on the middle of her head.

The public, many of whom knew that that was a lie, somehow believed that story and they embraced Jacquel as their heroine. And as for Jacquel, she had spent the next 10 years of her life in an orphanage. Dumbledore somehow gained influence over the headmaster there and he and the staff forced all the orphans into eternal servitude.

But Jacquel escaped that and often slipped away from the forbidding place and into the streets of London, where its citizens embraced the strange girl who always wore a stately gown made of plain ivory satin. It had wide and loose sleeves and a form-fitting skirt. And in that city of London, the residents there kept a close eye on the half-wild Jacquel, whose antics were more talked about than the latest Hollywood celebrities. She had been known to slip into many a school window and listen in on the lessons, defying an orphanage rule that stated that orphans weren’t allowed in school at all. Nor was anyone allowed to adopt any orphan from the orphanage; for if one orphan was adopted from the place, Dumbledore convinced the cruel headmaster, then there was a chance that Jacquel could be adopted as well and Dumbledore didn’t want that at all.

But Jacquel’s days of living as a half-wild child in London ended in the year that she would turn 11 years old. She was sitting in her room playing with the dolls secretly given to her by her father and uncle in defiance of the rule of no playing with toys when the headmaster came in. He was a large, dimwitted man with fine dark-brown hair, brown eyes, and a freckled face. He also had no knowledge of his charge’s many adventures in London, for everyone in the orphanage ignored her most of the time. “You have a visitor,” he said.

At once Jacquel stood up. For that fateful meeting, she was wearing a dark rose chiffon gown that was woven with butterflies. The sleeves were billowing and the tight-waisted skirt was decorated with intricate beadwork. That was the kind of gown that most normal girls would not wear, but Jacquel was no ordinary girl. She also did not wear any shoes; she had never seen a pair of shoes since she was 3 years old. “I never get any visitors,” Jacquel responded in kind. In truth, no one ever came to see her; not unless you counted Sirius and Lupin, both of whom could only drop secret gifts in her room whenever she wasn’t looking.

“Indeed you do not, Miss Smythesten,” said the headmaster, “and yet, he has come to see you.”

At once, Albus Dumbledore walked into the room. Jacquel was quite nervous. After all, she had no idea that 10 years ago, that same man had brutally raped and murdered her mother and declared her the “ _Girl-Who-Lived_ ,” only to take her away from her father and place her in this terrible prison of an orphanage. Dumbledore said, “Miss Smythesten, I believe that it is time for you to leave this orphanage.”

“But where can I go?” cried Jacquel. “I have no relatives and no one else can take me in.”

“Nonsense,” said Dumbledore. “It is to Hogwarts where you will attend. Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry, to be exact. There, you will study magic.”

“Magic isn’t real,” Jacquel laughed as she stared at the old man. “It’s all smoke and mirrors to me.”

“Oh, but magic is real, dear child,” said Dumbledore, “and you will learn in time. Most children your age don’t have much of a concept of magic other than those damned magic shows you put on for the children.” He directed those last few words to the headmaster. Dumbledore then said to Jacquel, “In one week’s time, I will send someone to fetch you and bring you to Hogwarts. It will be on your birthday.”

*****

Well, on the night before Jacquel turned 11, a giant was seen walking into the orphanage. Jacquel was sitting in her room with all her life’s possessions packed away in a suitcase. This time, instead of wearing another fancy dress, Jacquel was wearing a salmon colored sweater over a purple dress, brown socks that went well over her knees and dark brown boots.

The children who yet remained at the orphanage flocked to the many dirty windows in the building and waved goodbye as they watched their brave heroine leave the orphanage for the final time. They would never again see Jacquel, nor would they hear from her the many sights and sounds of London that they could only dream about.

Anyway, Hagrid (for that was the giant’s name) said to her, “Well, Miss Smythesten, this will sound crazy to you but you are the Girl-Who-Lived.”

“I’m what?!” Jacquel cried out.

Hagrid stared at her. He said, “There was a time when the wizarding world was terrorized by an evil wizard, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. He came and killed your family, but you stopped him and he gave you that scar.”

Jacquel frowned at that story. She didn’t think it was true at all. She said, “Is that all there is to this story?”

“Yes,” said Hagrid. “That is all.” But he did not want to tell Jacquel the truth about her family. He was afraid she wouldn’t trust him. In fact, Hagrid had been forbidden by Dumbledore to reveal anything concerning Irene Romanov to her only daughter or the fact that Dumbledore had killed her. “I must be off then,” said Hagrid. “When next we meet, we will be at Hogwarts.” He left a surprised and rather confused Jacquel by herself.

She didn’t stay there long, for she found herself quickly boarding the Hogwarts Express and preparing to make herself be known in the wizarding world.

Well, here’s what happened to Jacquel when she went to Hogwarts:

Jacquel went to Hogwarts and Dumbledore (being ever the creepily evil manipulative monster that he was) planned for her to go into Gryffindor and befriend Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger (and if possible, Neville Longbottom). but instead, she ended up going into Slytherin and befriending nearly 99% of the Slytherin population, among then Draco Malfoy, Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle, Blaise Zambini, Theodore Nott, Pansy Parkinson, Millicent Bulstrode, and Daphne Greengrass.

And also since her head of house was Severus Snape and not Minerva McGonagall, Snape took the child under his wing and taught her most of everything he knew about magic, seeing that she had never went to any school a day in her life before Hogwarts.

In short, our dear Jacquel walked a fine line between good and evil, and many of the kids from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff were afraid of her. But the Gryffindors were especially shocked to know that the Girl-Who-Lived was in Slytherin, but she taunted them every chance she had. Taking the brunt of the taunting were Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, and Neville Longbottom, all who were not friends with each other at all.

And because there is no Sorcerer’s Stone, Chamber of Secrets or Prisoner of Azkaban, we now have to make up a new story to fill in those blanks. In her first year, Jacquel “accidentally” discovered several files that connected the headmaster to her family’s deaths. She also discovered that there was an Unspeakable Pin hidden in the school. She and the other Slytherins were able to steal the Pin and destroy it, thus (unknowingly) ridding the school of a very dangerous object.

And the next year (No Chamber of Secrets happened), Jacquel once again saved the school from the wrath of the cruel Glaunus the Dwarf, who wanted to take over the school. Malfoy had soon become one of her good friends and Ron and Hermione were her enemies. Dumbledore was at a huge loss of words; he had meant for Jacquel to be placed in Gryffindor and befriend Ron and Hermione. But she was placed in Slytherin and befriended Draco Malfoy and she was walking a fine line between good and evil.

But by the time Jacquel was 13 years old (and Prisoner of Azkaban never happened) Dumbledore knew that it was time to reel her in and make her know her place. Jacquel, meanwhile, was causing nothing but trouble for Ron and Hermione with the other Slytherins and she wasn’t about to let up anytime soon. Dumbledore had to put an end to Jacquel’s rebellious side or else he’d lose control of his Girl-Who-Lived.

So he secretly made plans for Jacquel (who stayed in Hogsmeade during school breaks) to go home with the Weasleys and befriend Ronald or else she would be expelled from Hogwarts altogether. Jacquel was not very happy about the whole deal but she decided to go along with it, hoping to turn Ron against Dumbledore and perhaps get his family back to their roots as wizards.

But even the best plans go awry, because Ryenne Tuff would show up and he and Jacquel’s fateful first meeting would shake up all of wizarding England to its core…

Now to begin the meeting between Harrison Tuff and the “ _Girl-Who-Lived_ ”…


	6. When Harrison Met Jacquel

Now we go back to Merlin’s School of Magic, which was about to be shut down due to Dumbledore’s stupidity...

Where we last left off: But like all things in life, this eternal paradise could not last forever, for Albus Dumbledore noted that squib children were secretly learning magic in Wales, and that Cornelius Fudge, who was currently the minister of magic, had granted several of the schools, including Merlin’s, permission to teach magic to squibs. Dumbledore did not like that at all. He believed that squibs had no rights in the wizarding world and was angry to know that even squib children were learning magic. Not to mention that he had lost his Boy-Who-Lived and he was forced to kill another mother and create a Girl-Who-Lived at that.

_So he secretly wrote an order to shut down all wizarding charity schools, or the schools that took in squibs and he would send the squib children into the muggle world, where they would be less likely to survive. Merlin’s was among the schools being shut down. And when the notice demanding the schools be shut down was revealed in the Daily Prophet and was signed by Fudge (who didn’t even know about the notice), many wizards were up in arms over the whole thing. To them, nothing was worse than squibs being sent into the muggle world, which many people despised because to them, muggles were cruel and uncaring and they hated how the muggles viewed magic as fun and harmless entertainment when wizards viewed magic as sacred and something to be respected and something that was not to be toyed with or used for fun._

_Soon after the notice to shut down all squib schools in wizarding Britain was sent out, scores of squibs were placed in muggle boarding schools. But Merlin’s was left off the list because it had been a well-respected school and the ministry had a treaty with the Wingmakers. But Dumbledore sought to break that treaty, an act that would anger both wizards and Wingmakers alike and send a young boy named Ryenne Tuff to Hogwarts._

_Now to begin the meeting between Harrison Tuff and the “Girl-Who-Lived”…_

At last, that dreaded day had finally come.

It was in the middle of July and Ryenne and Caleb were just sitting outside. With them were Susie, Maggie, Chris, Quetta, Violet, Prince, Paige, Emmi, Marty, Gwen, Jonathan, and Adrian. All the kids were just frowning; their friends were living in the Wingmakers village with new families and they were stuck here.

Presently, Michael Rasputin came to them and said, “I’ve got some bad news, kids.”

“Oh no, what happened?” they all cried out.

“The school is being shut down,” said Rasputin. A chorus of groans followed.

“But why?” asked Caleb.

“I don’t know,” said Jonathan.

“Maybe the evil Froensrs ate the school officials,” said Maggie.

“Nothing like that,” said Rasputin. “They’re shutting down the school.”

Many people were there and they couldn’t believe what they were hearing. Merlin’s was being shut down? That was very much unheard of! “You mean to tell me that they’re closing the school?” said Mother Mira.

“This is outrageous!” cried Harvey Mullins, the telepathy teacher.

“Whose bright idea was it to close down the school?” cried Eleanor.

“Someone who has no respect for the Wingmakers,” said Isaac. “One who has destroyed the bond between Wingmaker and wizard.”

“It’s that minister of magic,” said Cassie Scott, the alchemy teacher. “Cornelius Fudge is so weak-minded that he would destroy people just to save his own skin.”

“It’s not him,” said Heriberto Compton, the Warlock Sorcerer. “It’s that Albus Dumbledore.” Everyone stared at him. Compton continued, “Albus Dumbledore is nothing more than a meddling fool who decided that he would take over the wizarding world. He claimed to have done it “ _for the greater good_.” What is the “ _greater good_ ” if that meant a war that killed off scores of people and taking down the wizard who was once his lover?”

Rasputin said, “And not only that, he destroyed the Romanov family and wiped the name off the face of the earth, save for one person, and she’s only part Romanov at that.” He sighed and said, “I will be taking several students and traveling to London and seeing if this mess can be straightened up. The rest of you can collect the other students and house them. The school building may be shut and locked, but Merlin’s will still go on!”

And while the Wingmakers were planning to defy the law set up them, Jacquel Smythesten was suffering in silence at the Burrow with the Weasley family. She despised them all, even Bill and Charlie, who had come to visit for the summer. She couldn’t stand Arthur and his love for muggle things, Molly and her love of food, Percy and his seriousness, the twins and their pranks, Ron and his excitement that the “ _Girl-Who-Lived_ ” is in HIS OWN HOUSE, and even Ginny and her sick obsession with the late Harry Potter.

She usually spent the summer with the other Slytherins (since she had no home to go to and Dumbledore had forbidden Lupin and Sirius to come into any contact with her), but she was soon getting sick and tired of being among the Weasleys. Soon came an event that would seal the fate of the entire Weasley family with her own…

*****

The Quidditch World Cup was coming to Britain and many wizards were very excited. Most of them had already reserved their places and the Weasley family, along with Jacquel and Hermione Granger, were given the best spot. Jacquel wasn’t a huge fan of Quidditch at Hogwarts, and she mostly stayed away from any Quidditch event that was held in the school. But the Weasleys were huge Quidditch fans and poor Jacquel was stuck with them for the entire summer.

Also, Michael Rasputin had packed up Gladys and the children (among them were Robert (Robbie), Marie Louise, David, Felix, and Matilda Evans and Jennifer (Jenny), Sarah, and William (Liam) Ravencraft) and they all went off to London. Rasputin had planned to plead his case to the Wizengamot and make them re-open Merlin’s.

But most of the Wizengamot were going to the Quidditch World Cup and the group was also asked to attend, with Fudge planning to meet with Rasputin the following week.

Ryenne frowned as he and his somewhat extended family were at the campgrounds and most wizards and witches prepared to watch the game later that night. Jonathan said to him, “Hey, check out that girl over there.” Ryenne looked to his left and saw a young girl with light blue eyes and golden-white hair. She was smaller than most teenagers were; even most 10-year-olds could see over her head. She was wearing a lavender jacquard gown, scattered with leaves and vines, and stood there with a rather imposing look on her face. She seemed oblivious to the red-haired family that surrounded her.

“Isn’t that Lady Anne Maud Hyacinthe, Princess of Iburea?” Ryenne asked curiously.

“Nope,” said Nathaniel. “That’s Jacquel Smythesten, the Girl-Who-Lived.”

“Lived through what?” asked Leslie. “The Viruarana Revolt?”

“Well, I heard that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named killed her parents and gave her a scar,” said Raulin.

“Oh did he?” said Ezra.

“That’s what I heard,” said Marty. “She was only a baby when it happened.”

“I feel sorry for her,” said Maggie. “To grow up and not know your parents is the saddest thing to ever go through for a child.”

Gladys called the kids and said, “We must go into the stadium now.” The kids all lined up and sat in their seats. Ryenne stared at the same girl he had seen before, Jacquel Smythesten. Only this time, she was wearing a jacket and jeans and a green hat. She did not look happy. Quetta said to him, “She really is the Girl-Who-Lived, isn’t she?”

“I doubt it,” said Ryenne. “There was no way any dark wizard couldn’t blow her to smithereens.”

“She got lucky, that’s what I heard,” said Jefferson. “Or else she would have been dead already.”

To make a long story short, after a controversial scoring, the after party was being held in the ballroom. Ryenne and his friends all stood in a corner; Ryenne having never been outside the Wingmakers village was painfully shy and appeared to have Asperger’s syndrome. But he did keep an eye on Jacquel Smythesten, wondering if he should speak to her.

But his fears seemed to be unwarranted, for Jacquel herself came and spoke to him. Quetta had walked off and the others weren’t around, making for a probably awkward first meeting. Jacquel was wearing a pale green brocade gown bordered with suns, moons, the sleeves are three-quarter, and the gored skirt is ornamented with silver lace. Her hair was adorned with several gold combs. Ryenne was wearing a robe of sky-blue satin, which was embellished with tiny gemstones. Neither spoke for a long time.

Presently, a set of twins approached them, saying, “Jacquel, Mrs. Weasley’s looking for you.”

“Well, Solaris, tell her that I’m not coming,” said Jacquel sternly.

“But why?” said the boy.

“You heard her, Casper,” said Solaris to her brother. “She’s the Girl-Who-Lived. She doesn’t need to be around those Weasleys; they’re a bad influence on her. I don’t know what Dumbledore sees in them; they’re filthy blood-traitors.”

A stern glare from Mrs. Weasley shut them both up. She said, “I don’t know anything about those people who raised you, but you will show me some respect while you are in my presence. Or perhaps you are being influenced by that wicked mother of yours.”

“But our mother didn’t do anything bad!” cried Solaris.

“She murdered that Irene Romanov, that’s what she did,” said Mrs. Weasley. “Then she tried to kill Irene’s baby daughter, and she would have done so if someone hadn’t came along and stopped her.”

“Then explain the scar Jacquel got,” said Casper.

“You rude boy!” Mrs. Weasley snapped. “If you and your sister weren’t the children of Sirius Black, I’d spank you two.” Little did they know that Ryenne Tuff had overheard the whole thing.

Jacquel did not hear anything, but she did know how angry Mrs. Weasley was at the Mobley twins. They had been her only friends in the orphanage, having been taken from their mother at birth and placed in a foster family, only to be taken from them and placed in the orphanage where Jacquel had once lived. All three were quite inseparable. Mrs. Weasley turned to Jacquel and said, “It’s getting late; we best be going back now.” Ryenne watched as Jacquel’s soft facial features hardened and she glared at the older witch.

Jacquel stared at Ryenne again and then walked off with the twins and Mrs. Weasley. He stood there, frozen in his place until Quetta and Ezra came to retrieve him. Ezra said, “Who was she?”

“I don’t know,” said Ryenne.

Quetta said, “Well, I don’t know who she was, but I have a feeling that we’ll be seeing more of her.”

Just then, Gladys called the children and they all walked off. Ryenne couldn’t get the face of Jacquel Smythesten out of his mind. He wondered if Quetta was right. _And if she’s right_ , he mused, _then I will be seeing her once again, probably before the night is through_.


	7. Ryenne’s Encounter with Dumbledore

Now we continue on, with an attack on the Quidditch fairgrounds and Ryenne’s accidental first encounter with the Dark Lord...

That night, Ryenne woke up to a strange sound. The sound of screaming. Something was happening outside his tent and it wasn’t good. In fact, things were very bad. Within a few hours, the campgrounds were under attack. Fires broke out and people were running for their lives.

Ryenne found himself being dragged out of his sleeping bag and running along with Caleb and the other children. Gladys had gotten the younger children out of the tent and to safety in the woods.

Jacquel, Solaris, and Casper too were running, but in the opposite direction. While everyone else fled from the danger, the three orphans were running TOWARDS it. Many people who didn’t get out were under some sort of evil spell.

“Ok, that’s just wrong,” Casper said as a woman (who was under a spell) walked willingly towards a darkly dressed wizard, only to be brutally attacked.

“Who’s doing this?” cried Solaris.

“Him,” Jacquel snapped. All three turned around and saw the Dark Lord standing at the forefront of the attack. He was covered up in a dark robe, but Jacquel knew it when she saw him. That stupid mark on her head couldn’t lie.

Ryenne, meanwhile, sat in a tree. He and the others had climbed a tree to get away from the evil wizards and to see what was happening. He gasped as he saw Jacquel, Solaris, and Casper approaching the dark figure. “No! Don’t do it!” He screamed despite himself. Why was he doing it?

Jacquel thought to herself _who is that yelling for me?_ Before she could ask herself any further questions, Ryenne had grabbed her hand. “What are you doing?” she cried out.

“You don’t want to face him,” said Ryenne. “He might harm you.”

“How would you know?” cried Casper.

“He could hurt you guys,” said Ryenne.

“He can’t do anything to Jacquel,” said Solaris. “She’s the Girl-Who-Lived. Death Eaters flee at the very mention of her name.”

“Of course,” said Jacquel. She turned around and said, “I am Jacquel Smythesten, the Girl-Who-Lived! If you value your pathetic lives, you will flee at once!”

Almost immediately, the hooded figures fled, as if Jacquel’s very words meant certain death to them all. She turned to the others and said, “Well, so there you have it. They can’t mess with me, lest death comes to them. Now we got to get out of here lest they find out about us and stuff like that. Can’t have people freaking out and stuff like that.” Ryenne frowned as Jacquel and the twins led him away from the site and towards the campgrounds.

“So where is your campsite?” asked Solaris.

Ryenne was too shy to answer, but then Dumbledore came running towards the children. “Miss Smythesten!” he cried out. “Thank Merlin you are safe!”

Jacquel laughed. “So the jerk thinks he can show concern over his precious little princess? Hah! I don’t really care about what you think, you pathetic monster! You can take your stupidity and shove it someplace else, because I’m not buying any more of your crap!”

Everyone stared at Jacquel as she continued to berate the older wizard. But all she could do was focus on Dumbledore. Jacquel continued, "And if you cared about me, why didn't you save my parents?"

Dumbledore frowned and said, "What would it have accomplished that I had rescued your family, only to lose the head of the Magical Spells Department?"

"My grandmother was a respectable woman, did you not know that?" Jacquel snapped. She then stormed off towards the direction of Mrs. Weasley.

Mrs. Weasley said to Dumbledore, "You will hold your tongue in her presence, or so help me…" She paused as she saw Ryenne standing there. So did everyone else. He didn't say anything, but Gladys was seen running towards him. "There you are!" she cried out as she took him. "What happened to you?"

Ryenne said, "I saw something very strange."

"Like how strange?" Caleb cried out.

"I don't know what it was, but it was kind of freaky," said Ryenne. "Anyway, we needs to get back."

Dumbledore took one good look at the boy. He saw a young boy with brown eyes, brown hair, and freckles on his face. Could it be? _No. Harry Potter is dead_ , Dumbledore reminded himself.  _He can't be here_. He then said, "Molly, while I do appreciate your concern about Miss Smythesten's welfare, I must remind you that under no circumstances you are to act as her mother. She cannot be coddled while she is training to defeat the Dark Lord. She can't be distracted with such trivial things such as a mother."

"And why does she not need a mother?" Molly snapped in anger.

Dumbledore ignored her and addressed Ryenne. "Young man," he said, "how did you find out about the Quidditch World Cup?"

"So, you're the one who had our school shut down!" Gladys snapped.

"And what school is that?" Dumbledore asked.

"Merlin's School of Magic," said Michael Rasputin as he walked over to the old man. "What gave you the right to shut down the school?"

"Merlin's was your school?" Dumbledore stared at him with a confused look on his face.

"It was, until that order went out to shut down any school that was educating squibs," said Gladys.

Dumbledore said, "Indeed. But let us move this to a more appropriate setting; we've all had a rough night and I'm sure Miss Smythesten would like to rest."

He took off and left the Weasleys to deal with the children. Gladys and Caleb took Ryenne back to their tent, where a concerned Michael had finished corralling the rest of the group. He said, "That Albus Dumbledore is unreasonable!"

"Why?" Gladys asked.

"He shuts down our school and instead of re-opening it back up, he invites us to HIS school," Michael snapped. "As far as I heard, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry is one of the worst schools in all of Britain. It's a great joke to think that our children would go there."

Gladys said, "I bet he shut us down in order to force us to bring the children here. Are there no other magical schools out there?"

"Try Gareth Hart Academy," said a random wizard. "It has a better reputation than old Hogwarts here."

"Indeed," said Michael with a frown on his face.

* * *

Ryenne, meanwhile, could not shake off the feeling that something wasn't right here, especially with Jacquel Smythesten. He had seen the hooded wizards flee from her, but wouldn't they have just blown her to smithereens on sight? And what was the deal about her being the Girl-Who-Lived?

Caleb said, "Now that was freaky!"

"I'll say," said Ryenne. But he suddenly felt tired and wanted to sleep. He would deal with this issue in the morning.


End file.
